Photo: Malcolm Etherington · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Whitchurch Canonicorum is over 55.7, older than 97% of UK towns
The share of households in terraced houses trails 99% of UK towns: 2%. In 2021, the Census found 330 residents in Whitchurch Canonicorum, living in 150 households. Here, 18% of households have dependent children. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are common here: 61%, more than in 95% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 31%, a higher share than 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.2%, against 12% across England’s towns. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
3.2% of adults are full-time students, below 98% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
5.8% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Whitchurch Canonicorum ranks above 88% of UK towns on one-person households: 35%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 4%. Households average 2.2 people. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
76% of households live in a detached house, more than in 99% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
In Whitchurch Canonicorum, 4.7% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns. The share of households in flats stands at 3.3%. Against that, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Whitchurch Canonicorum sits above 99% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (100%)
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 7% of residents were born outside the UK in Whitchurch Canonicorum. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3%) and in Africa (1.8%).
98% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 99% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 98% of Whitchurch Canonicorum · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion trails 84% of UK towns: 34%. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Whitchurch Canonicorum sits above 96% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (59%)
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
8 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Fewer adults who have never married than in 93% of UK towns: 25%. Still, in Whitchurch Canonicorum, one in ten residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns.
40% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Whitchurch Canonicorum’s adults: 40% with a degree-level qualification and 13% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Whitchurch Canonicorum
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitchurch Canonicorum | 330 | — | 55.7 | 31% | 18% |
| Charmouth | 1,337 | 2.3 mi | 61.8 | 46% | 16% |
| Lyme Regis | 3,741 | 4.1 mi | 59.9 | 40% | 16% |
| Bridport | 12,294 | 4.5 mi | 56.2 | 35% | 17% |
| Uplyme | 1,053 | 4.6 mi | 54 | 29% | 25% |
| Bradpole | 1,257 | 5.1 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Beaminster | 2,995 | 6.3 mi | 57.7 | 39% | 17% |
| Axminster | 6,094 | 6.4 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Dorset’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Dorset (or England), summed the same way as Whitchurch Canonicorum’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Whitchurch Canonicorum’s residents
What is the population of Whitchurch Canonicorum?
The 2021 Census counted 330 people in Whitchurch Canonicorum’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Whitchurch Canonicorum?
The median age was 55.7 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Whitchurch Canonicorum?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Whitchurch Canonicorum?
34% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Whitchurch Canonicorum good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Whitchurch Canonicorum’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.